The Little Vampire 3: The Unveiling
by SlightlyOdd13
Summary: The tri..quel.. to The Little Vampire, this is yet another story of normal school kids who's lives are riddled with sci-fi adventure and the supernatural. Despite Halloween's passing, the eerie and strange seem to follow the Lyoko gang like the plague. Will they be able to solve all the mysteries thrown at them? *Temporary hiatus, will resume in a matter of days*
1. The dance

Odd was hesitant despite his hand already closed around the doorknob, and voiced his concern for the millionth time of the day. "Are you sure?"

"Oh come on," Jeremie was rolling his eyes on the other side of the door.

"It's too late for second thoughts Odd. Just come out already," Aelita strained to keep the impatience out of her voice.

Frowning in disapproval, Odd sighed to himself, "I've had second thoughts since the beginning." But he came into the hall anyways.

"Oh, nice," Jeremie nodded, as if he had been proven wrong, and DID actually like it.

"It's great don't you think?" Aelita smiled at Odd, admiring his attire like she had at the thrift store when she had first spotted it and insisted it be purchased.

Odd just stood there like an impatient kid, waiting for the ok to get going already. The faster they got to the gym, the happier he would be. Being a model for Aelita was not exactly his favourite pastime, especially while wearing this monkey suit. Only it wasn't just ANY monkey suit.

What he was wearing happened to be an eighteenth century relic, black as night with blood red accents. A long dark cape with underlining and an oversized collar just topped it off. This was a vampire outfit.

"Can we go now?" an impatient Odd asked with a sigh.

She nodded in giddy excitement. "Jeremie, have you got yours?"

"Yeah, just gimme a sec," the boy stepped into his room, closing the door.

Meanwhile Aelita fluffed up her hair, "How do I look?"

A small smile spread on Odd's face. He couldn't stay unamused for long. Maybe it was just that he had such a well developed sense of humor. He replied: "Positively gruesome."

She shot him an unimpressed stare. "Well thanks a lot." It may not have seemed like it, but it was all in fun and they both knew it.

Just a few moments later Jeremie was out, and the trio skipped along the empty halls, off to the gym. The whole rest of the school was already there.

• • •

Halloween was a joyous time at Kadic, and it wasn't just the students who went all out, there was always the staff, and everybody. That's why, minutes later, when Aelita entered the gym linked elbow-to-elbow with a couple of vampires, Jim was right there with his opinionated commentary.

"Those are quite some costumes you two," he was obviously speaking to Jeremie and Odd, who wore practically matching getups. Then he turned to their companion. "And what are you?"

"Why, I'm the victim," Aelita angled her neck around to show two perfect little fang-entry wounds.

Jim chuckled heartily, and let them go by.

As they entered the busy gym, dim by design, with flashing lights and cob-webbed top to bottom in decor, it occurred to Aelita that that is what she really was, a victim. Even though she didn't think of it that way at all. Ironically, the two 'vampires' she had come in with, were actually vampires, and somehow they went along with her hair-brained plan for them to go as themselves. So now at least they weren't stuck with fake fangs messing up their speech like other wannabes.

Splitting up unintentionally, she found herself alone on the dance floor, suddenly remembering that it had already two weeks since she had found out. Two weeks since her life had turned upside down. First Jeremie, then Odd, she often joked to herself about who might turn out to be a blood-sucker next.

She spotted a wave from her pals and decided to stop staring out into space and greet them like a normal person.

"Hi guys! Wicked costumes, no pun intended," Aelita giggled, noticing Yumi's green-tinted face and pointy hat. She wore a long-sleeved black dress, with little sequin patterns of the same colour, swirling all around it.

"None taken. And besides, I left my spell book at home," Yumi joked.

"Hey, have you guys seen Odd?" Ulrich looked around, blowing the feather from his hat out of the way only to have his fake sword start clanking a little in it's sheath. Who knew being a pirate meant having the reflexes of a slug?

"He's pretty hard TO see," Jeremie admitted, just coming back from the buffet. "Punch Aelita?"

She shrugged and took the glass. "Why? Is there something wrong?"

"Pfft, just the amount of girls surrounding him. Look," Yumi pointed a dark-red fingernail.

Just like Jeremie said, you could only spot the very top of Odd's hair past the sea of girls, dressed up in every costume under the sun.

"Huh, looks like they forgot what his feet smell like at the end of the day," Jeremie shrugged.

"Wow, talk about a lady's man," Ulrich snorted. "Well I'd better go rescue him."

"Yeah," Yumi nodded, and watched him go with a look in her eye that Aelita recognized instantly. She knew it from experience, and the times that she had had that same dreamy expression, with a sigh and a smile. What else could it be?

• • •

Meanwhile, across the floor, Odd was surrounded by a gaggle of giggling girls, surprisingly attracted to him. As Ulrich pushed his way through the crowd of ghouls and she-goblins, he heard things like: "Odd, I love your costume," or "Hey, are you here with anyone?" Ulrich just rolled his eyes. "Ok, let me through," he tried to coax the crowd.

Soon he was next to Odd, clapping a hand down on his shoulder, "Hey good buddy, how did you become such a magnet?"

"Dumb luck?" he shrugged.

Ulrich glanced down at Odd's mouth. "Hey, nice fangs."

Odd's hand immediately flew to his teeth, on instinct, and then he remembered that today it was ok. "Oh, thanks."

"You seem so on edge. Chill out, it's a party! Right girls?" Ulrich's reply was a bunch of inthusiastic, girlish "yeah"s.

"Well, we'd better get going, huh Ulrich?" Odd sounded just the tiniest bit relieved.

"Yeah sure," he nodded. "Come on. The others are waiting." The girls looked a little disappointed, but disbanded all the same, as the guys headed back to their pals.

• • •

Back on their side of the gym, Aelita, Yumi and Jeremie were discussing different costume ideas when Theo spontaneously came over and complimented Yumi's.

"Oh, thanks Theo. I like your costume too." She smiled back. "Gangster right?"

"Yup, straight out of the 40's. Pretty sharp huh?" He tipped his hat up and adjusted it.

"Yeah," she had to agree, it was a pretty cool costume.

A new song came on, the classic Monster Mash, and all over the gym people jumped up in anticipation. As the words began, Theo turned to Yumi. "Do you want to dance?"

"Sure," she took his hand and was led onto the floor.

Right about then Odd and Ulrich came back over, with the latter looking around for Yumi, until he spotted her. "What is she doing with him?" Ulrich almost snarled.

"Oh come on," Odd said, trying to talk some sense into his pal. "You know Theo's had a crush on her since forever."

"So what? That doesn't mean he can just do what he wants." Man, if looks could kill, Theo would already be dead ten times over.

"Relax Ulrich," Jeremie told him, sipping his punch.

"After all, it's just one dance," Aelita added.

"Yeah, one dance, but what next?" He questioned, just as the song ended.

Odd elbowed him friendlily, "Chill out! It's a party! Remember?"

Back on the dance floor, they separated, Yumi waving to Theo before she came back, wearing a small smile.

"How was it?" Aelita asked cheerily, just trying to be a good friend.

"Not too bad actually," she nodded. "You should try it."

Aelita turned to Jeremie with a hopeful look. He just glanced away nervously. Then suddenly he became more focused, and a little siren, all too familiar to the five, started going off in his 1800's jacket pocket.

Scooping his phone out and turning off the alarm, he informed the others, though they already knew what was going on. "XANA's attacking the skid."

"Aww, and this was just getting good," Odd frowned.

"Sorry to wreak your night guys, but we have more important things to do," Ulrich reminded harshly.

Aelita grabbed onto her dark skirt, lifting it slightly so she could move more easily and with greater speed. "Ok, let's go," and they were off.

A/N:

Hi again guys and gals. Sorry, I promised to have this up earlier but stuff happens so yeah. And yes my author's note is lame today, but, I don't really have much to say.


	2. Just a normal evening

"Guys, guys," Odd nudged the others as the elevator door closed and they headed for the scanners. "What do you get when you have a-a pirate, a witch, a vampire and a victim all in one elevator?"

"A bad joke?" Ulrich grumbled.

"No—"

"A tough crowd?" Jeremie asked from the lab, just as the elevator door opened.

"Pfft, well you can say that again," Odd stepped into a scanner with Ulrich in the other one.

"Are you ready? I'm starting the virtualization prossess," Jeremie cracked his knuckles and stretched his hands, prepaired to type once again, one of the codes most familiar to him.

"Yeah, all set Einstein," Odd assured.

"Huh, guess its not lady's first," Yumi shrugged.

Ulrich replied sternly, "No." Just as the scanner closed.

She turned to Aelita with an expression that asked, 'what was that all about?'. Aelita just sighed and shook her head.

"Transfer. Scanner. Virtualization." Following these classic utterings the cool quartet found themselves in the arena, having almost forgotten the eerie feeling that sector five reeked of.

Jeremie adjusted his microphone. "Aelita, I've programmed you with a code sequence that will upgrade the shield, but it has to be inserted manually."

"Ok," she nodded.

Not another word was spoken as they headed through the corridor, following the faint glow that lit the cobalt-blue sector.

They continued through the suspiciously quiet sector, they hopped on the elevator, hitching a ride to the interface platform. As they ran out, staring into the celestial dome and watching their vehicles materialize, their view of it was not abstracted by anything, not a single monster.

Yumi opened her mouth but it was Ulrich who spoke first:

"This is too easy, yeah, we know," he said, giving Yumi a bored look, like she should get a less obvious catch-fraise.

Still not quite understanding what had gotten him so wound-up, Yumi just cocked an eyebrow and mumbled, "That isn't what I was going to say." But nobody really heard her, and they all hopped onto their rides.

"Jeremie, is there anything on the screen?" Aelita hopped on behind Odd and they took off, circling around, just to be sure.

"No, nothing," Jeremie scratched his head and checked again. "Wait! Wait! There's something coming your way! Look out!"

"From where? We can't see anything," Yumi glanced around again to no avail.

"I'm going to guess THEY'RE our welcoming committee," Ulrich spotted a flock of mantas coming their way.

"Flying mantas," Odd scoffed. "How original can you get." It was more a statement and less a question.

"And look who's leading the pack," Yumi was of course referring to William, surfing on the leading manta.

"Alright, nothing like a little diving practice," Odd wore a determined face as the gang avoided a close collision and weaved through the mantas with little room to spare. The overboard was quickly looped back around, boosters firing up as Aelita hung on for dead life.

It was obvious that she wasn't a fan of his driving, and kept telling herself that she should have ridden with Yumi. Unfortunately, she had come to this deciscion a little too late.

"It's all yours Aelita," Odd made room so that she could shift to the middle of the board, and as he jumped off courageously he yelled, "Don't scratch the paint!"

As he landed on a manta, Aelita wobbled and momentarily lost control, but in a second she had found her balance again, and was speeding around with an energy field in hand.

"Hey William, dull crowd don't you think? Ha-ya!" Yumi's fan was going straight for him until his sword materialized out of black smoke. William deflected the fan, sending it back at her, and despite her despirate dodge attempt, the overwing had been hit and was going down. Luckily, Yumi was able to jump back to the platform where the interface was.

Ulrich, meanwhile, had attracted the attention of most of the other mantas, and Aelita started picking them off, while he kept 'em busy. Odd in the back ground looked like he was trying to tame a wild crocodile, straddled on its back, with claws inserted.

William had jumped off his manta, deciding instead to attack Yumi head-to-head, sword already drawn. The manta soon joined the group of them that followed Ulrich, two of which had already been annihilated by Aelita.

"Ouch!" She was hit by a laser and lost her balance, the overboard tipped dangerously, but again Aelita was able to steady herself.

"Careful! That's twenty less life points," Jeremie cautioned. "Leave the risk-taking to the others."

Suddenly, Odd and his new ride looped around and two mantas shot each other simultaneously. One exploded at the expense of the other, the one Odd had been hitchhiking on.

Aelita swung around just in time, catching Odd on the back of the board to avoid the void. As he got up he appreciatively said, "Sorry to drop in on you like this, Princess," he topped it with his goofball grin.

Aelita just smiled and swerved back around again.

On the overbike, Ulrich had almost caught up to one manta when it was joined by a couple others and together the trio started dropping flying mines all around.

"Uh-oh," Odd poked his head out from behind Aelita, and cringed at what lay ahead.

"Here we go!" Aelita might have jumped the gun just a tiny bit as she sped into the minefield, not looking back.

"Whoa! Who taught you to drive?!" Odd exclaimed, ducking and trying to not get in the way.

Aelita smirked. "You did."

"Oh, heheh. Right."

Back on the platform, William's sword came down on the level yet irregularly-shaped ground, just centimeters away from Yumi, who dodged acrobatically. Launching her fans immediately, she did get a hit on him, but not fatal. She caught them, and stepped back gingerly, finding her heel at the edge of the sector.

A little ways away, in the mine field, Odd noticed a manta that was trailing him and Aelita, and without thinking, fired at it. This started a series of unfortunate events, namely the triggered mines that began exploding one by one, sending Odd and Aelita high-tailing it out of there, to avoid more damage to the overboard. The latter soon sprouted wings, and took off.

Further down the field, where the mines had yet to explode, Ulrich had hopped up into the air, flipping above a manta and jabbing his saber into its XANA symbol on the way, he landed perfectly back on his vehicle. But it wasn't meant to be, not long afterwards, another flying beast came up from Ulrich's blind spot and almost shot the overbike.

"William, don't do this," Yumi had half her foot on the ground, half off, and was teetering dangerously over the digital sea-like substance that lay as sector 5's foundation. "Please," she knew it was probably useless but why not try it anyhow?

Mister 'dark side' himself was just standing, smirking evily at Yumi's predicament. And then he started to approach her.

She didn't know if she should feel ready for a fight or a flight. She tried reaching out one last time. "This isn't you. Snap out of it! XANA can't control you, so don't listen to him!"

For a minute, the real William was there, Yumi could see that from all the hesitation, but it didn't last long. Then, just when he was about to push her off the edge, a chunk of it broke off. Both of them started to fall, but Yumi was able to grasp onto a small ledge. It was the only thing between her and certain death—or more specifically certain permanent virtualization.

"Whoa!" She glanced down, watching William plunge into the forbidden void, and let out a small whimper.

Ulrich was unsheathing his saber when he heard Yumi's cries. "Help! Ulrich!" But instead of going to save her, he noticed Aelita overwhelmed by three circling mantas, and Odd no where in sight.

He revved the engine, zooming towards her and taking out one of the mantas in the process. Ulrich turned to her long enough to say, "Go on! I'll cover you!"

Immediately understanding, Aelita took off towards the hanger's entrance, slipping in with no trouble at all.

"Help!" Yumi called again, letting out a surprisingly girly scream as the part of the ledge broke off and she now hung by just one hand. "I'm slipping! Ulrich!"

As her fingers cramped and finally slid, a quick hand was in hers, and she hung on tightly. But when she looked up, it wasn't Ulrich who had come to her rescue, it was Odd.

"Don't worry," he assured, "I gotcha." With a groan and some effort, Odd pulled her up, and they both sat for a second, catching their breath.

Meanwhile, Aelita had entered the hanger, spotting the Scyphozoa with tentacles attatched, and went straight for the interface.

The jellyfish-like monster did not like this one bit, and quickly sped up sucking the skid's energy.

Aelita's hands flew across the window _almost_ faster than Jeremie's fingers did on the keyboard. "Not this time," Aelita smirked and pressed a final button, making the system automatically update and force out XANA, leaving the Scyphozoa obliterated.

But, to their surprise, the silence was filled by a white haze and they soon found themselves going back in time.

A/N:

Thanks so much for the reviews! It really means a lot to me that you take time out of your day to read this. Btw, later chapters might've a bit staggered coming in just because the story planning is a little hectic at this point. Thanks!


	3. One night done twice

Aelita found herself standing in the middle of the gym, punch pouring down her throat, as she started choking on it out of surprise.

"Th-the dance?" She coughed out, staring at her surroundings with disbelief. The same decked-out auditorium, the same drink, the same company? There was only one possible explanation, but it was a bit unbelievable. She turned to Jeremie for answers, "What's," she coughed, "Going on?"

"I launched a return to the past," he replied simply, with a casual and innocent sip of his punch.

"But why?" Yumi asked, looking around the room, as if for a clock or something to tell her the time.

"It's Halloween. We DESERVE a break, and who wouldn't want to relive Halloween?"

The girls stared at Jeremie like he had gone completely mad.

"Jeremie, are you feeling alright?" Yumi examined his face for anything suspicious.

"Yeah," he said it like it should have been obvious.

"Yumi, here comes Theo," Aelita warned.

Just like before, Theo wandered over, immediately setting his sights on her. "Hey, Yumi. I like your costume."

"Oh, thanks. I like your costume too," She replied, still preoccupied by the baffling matter of Jeremies action.

"Gosh, you look like you've just seen a ghost," Theo laughed lightly.

Yumi tried to act normal, and think of a witty remark to use. Her mind went blank. "Well, it IS Halloween," she turned and mouthed to Aelita and Jeremie, "Right?"

Aelita shrugged, while Jeremie nodded nonchalantly.

Theo chuckled again. "Yeah, I guess."

The song came on, the Monster Mash, and all over the gym people jumped up in anticipation, just like they had last time. Yumi knew what was coming when Theo turned to her. "Do you want to dance?"

She was about to accept, again, when Ulrich returned, Odd in tow, and objected. "No, she doesn't."

"Why not?" Theo looked to her for an answer.

"Of cour—" again she was interrupted rudely by Ulrich, trying to regain superiority, and show that he was in charge when really he wasn't.

"Because she'd rather stay with me," he said stubbornly.

"It's just a dance. What's the harm in that?"

"Oh, there's plenty."

"Why? Are you getting jealous?"

Now it was her turn to take control. "Ok, listen. Both of you, just stop. Can't you do this another night? I came here to have a good time with my friends, and this isn't it."

The guys exchanged looks, and Ulrich began, "Fine. In that case, choose. Me, or him. And the other will stay out of your hair for the rest of the night."

Theo nodded. "That sounds fair."

Yumi was at a loss for words. She furrowed her eyebrows. "No. You know what? I don't choose either of you, because you're both too selfish and blindly competitive to have a good time. I choose nothing," and with that she walked off, getting lost in the crowd, not caring to listen if they called her name, which they did.

• • •

"Just out of curioucity," Odd began to Jeremie and Aelita, on the other side of the gym, scratching his head. "Why are girls always surrounding me lately?"

Jeremie shrugged.

"Could be because you're a vampire," Aelita supposed.

He was a little confused. "You mean legit, or the costume?"

"Both. Maybe it's your new vampireish natural ability kicking in, to be attractive to girls," Aelita suggested, not seriously.

"Oh yeah? Why? Are you attracted to me too?" Odd lifted an eyebrow and challenged her with his dashing looks.

She just shook her head. "I guess I'm immune."

"Come on, you know you can't resist my fang-tabulous charm," Odd tried to persuade her, jokingly of course.

"Alright, alright," Jeremie stepped in. "Ha ha very funny."

"Relax Max, I was just kidding," he assured. "Not trying to cause any trouble."

"Speaking of, I wonder what's going on over there," the boys followed Aelita's gaze not far away, to where Yumi, Ulrich and Theo were having a three-way quarrel. They witnessed Yumi storming off, but remained completely clueless, as they were out of hearing range.

"Yeah," Odd agreed. "Misery isn't part of the holiday though. Maybe I'll go see if I can cheer Yumi up."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, you know how she likes to be alone," Jeremie reminded chiddingly.

"Aelita," a friendly face that she couldn't quite put a name to, tugged on her sleeve. "It's your turn to DJ."

"Oh, ok, thanks," she waved quickly and was ushered to the stage, a loud announcement being made about her arrival at the turntables.

Odd decided to go anyways, replying over his shoulder to Jeremie. "It's Halloween. We're not going to re-do it a third time." And soon he was gone in the crowd, and Aelita was mixing up a storm.

• • •

Sky already dark blue, head rested in her hands, Yumi sat outside the gym on a conveniently-placed little bench, over all annoyed with the world. That's why, she came out to take advantage of the cold autumn air and cool down.

She had only been there a few minutes when Odd came out and dropped down beside her silently. A couple seconds later, he spoke. "You ok?"

Yumi's eyebrow's furrowed. "No. Does he always have to be such an idiot?"

Odd chuckled, "Can't help it sometimes."

"Making a fool of himself, and me, and for what? Because he's jealous of Theo? Pfft, yeah, like I've ever shown any interest in him. It would be like if you started showing interest in Milly. Just weird."

Odd started visualizing this, and was a little creeped out by the mental picture that his over-active imagination had painted. "Yeah, just weird..." Meanwhile Yumi went on venting, not noticing Odd's overly confused facial expressions.

"And if he's really THAT upset and THAT jealous, then why doesn't he just ask me out already?" Yumi exhaled a long sigh, trying to just let it all go. "Sorry about my rave there. I got carried away."

"That's ok," Odd replied. "You know Ulrich really cares about you, right?"

"Well I wish he had a different way of showing it," she frowned.

Odd shrugged, "Nobody's perfect."

An awkward silence swept over them and for once, Odd didn't know what else to say. Eventually he stood up, and was going to go back to the dance, but before he did, he spoke once more in Yumi's direction. "Sorry I wasn't able to cheer you up... see ya."

Odd started off back to the dance, but before he could get to the door, Yumi got up, and turned around. "Hey Odd," she began, making him stop and listen. "Did you want to, maybe get together some time?"

"Oh, uh, sure," Odd scratched the back of his head, a little confused. "Bye," he yanked open the heavy door, and loud music poured out into the night for a second, as he slipped in.

Yumi didn't know what to think, standing there in the dark as he disappeared into the gymnasium. Why had she said that?

She hadn't really noticed when it popped out, but one minute she's venting her frustration, and the next she's making rendezvous. How did it happen so fast?

On the other hand, Odd had always been there for her, and everyone. He didn't waver, or get all stubborn, and he was just easy to talk to, whether letting off steam or a heated discussion. He was always there to cheer them up, dust them off and bring them up when spirits were low. And Yumi's had been.

She wouldn't lie that dealing with Ulrich's stubbornness and overreactive jealousy spats was no picnic, and it hadn't showed signs of decreasing. It was becoming a burden sometimes, to feel connected to him, and yet she didn't want to pull away. Their bond was something she had been working towards for quite a while now, and she was convinced that she would finally feel whole once they were in a relationship. At least, that's what she had thought. Now that she was playing on her own discomforts and doubts, a few knew ideas came to light.

Maybe, just maybe, in what felt like loosing she had actually won.

A/N:

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I'm kind of falling behind a little (in order to keep up with my school work and such). Um, yeah. Shoot me a review, or pm, or whatever if you feel like it. They're always appreciated.


	4. Friend or façade?

The next morning, it was like everyone had woken up hung over, which was strange because there were no alcoholic drinks at the dance—none that the authorities knew of anyways (hehe just kidding). All the same, grunts and groans echoed though the halls of the dorm building, as students mustered the energy to care.

One by one the doors opened, groggy faces marching out, from the early-birds all the way till the bell, though few were foolish enough to sleep in that long.

Most of the day passed quickly, fading from the kids' thoughts with the ethereal quality of a dream. Even at lunch, the cafeteria was a hum of low murmurs, compared to the usual moderate chatter.

Out of the blue, Yumi began to giggle. It was actually a little strange. The others were watching her from their seats at the table, with worried and unsure looks, like she might have lost her mind.

"What's so funny?" Jeremie finally asked what the others were surely hoping to find out too.

Yumi set down her sandwich, continuing to chuckle mindlessly. "It's hilarious how no one will ever know about that vampire hoax, especially after Halloween." She grinned, as if feeling superior over the masses because of classified knowledge that she possessed. "And especially you guys, actually showing up as vampires. It's ironic really."

As Yumi gestured to Odd and Jeremie, the first tried with all his might to keep his face from looking incriminating, where as the latter had years of lying experience. "Yeah, heheh."

• • •

The day seemed like it was over before anyone realized, and Odd and his roommate were lounging around in their dorm, not doing much, when an incoming text literally shook Odd out of his daze.

He un-pocketed the mobile and read:

**Surfer Zombies 4 on tonight. Wanna go? I'll buy popcorn**

It was from Yumi, but as he read it over and over again, his eyes couldn't help but drift to his best buddy across the room, curled up with a book. It was then that the wave of guilt washed over him. He realized that the tide had definitely turned, and turned against him. What was he supposed to do?

Maybe he should say no. It _was_ Ulrich's girl he was talking about, and it felt just wrong to violate that friendship, and his trust.

But, on the other hand, it wasn't like their relationship was sailing smoothly, especially as of late. In fact, they seemed to be more fed up than in love, at least most of the time.

It could be that Yumi just needed a friend, someone to make new memories with, and rekindle old ones. And something to take her mind off the imperfections of the world, like a movie. Looking at it that way, it would be wrong for him NOT to accept.

With quick fingers, he replied to her, and moved Kiwi off his lap, standing up.

**Sure. C U there**

Ulrich glanced over his shoulder with a "where to?" look. Odd waved, hiding guilt behind his friendly smile, and slipped on out the door.

• • •

Upstairs, Aelita was sitting at her desk, math book long since set down because her thoughts were in a different place. She was thinking about that third vampire. Was it actually true?

Well obviously it was true, Odd couldn't have turned _himself_ into a vampire, and Jeremie's alibi was solid, so there must be a third vampire somewhere.

This fact was almost a little surprising to Aelita. Somehow, she must have overlooked that there were more vampires in the world than just Odd and Jeremie. It was almost a little frightening. As if the world didn't have enough criminals, murderers and mad men, now they had to worry about vampires too. And not many people Aelita knew carried garlic at all times.

Vampires at Kadic. How many were there? The first time she asked Jeremie, he had said none, but that turned out wrong. So how many of them might there be? Two or three more? Four or five? Ten? Twenty? Was the whole school made up of vampires and Aelita the only human?!

She pushed the irrational thought aside, reasoning that Azra, Emily and Sissi couldn't be vampires either, and it was highly unlikely that Ulrich or Yumi were. Although...

Aelita shook her head, trying to get back to her original thoughts. What she knew was that there was definitely a third vampire somewhere on the campus, and what she needed to know was who it was.

Odd had said that when he was turned, it was surprisingly unlike any horror movie he had ever watched. There were no disembodied footsteps following him, or creaks and cracks, or moans and groans, and no menacing whispers or evil laughter. All he could remember was taking the scenic route back to his room, and then nothing until he woke up on a park bench, to Azra calling his name.

Despite being a little late for their date, Odd's evening was fine up until he and Azra parted ways, because they didn't really. All through the date he kept having this strange feeling, and as Azra started walking off, he got this weird urge. He said that before he knew what he was doing he, bit her. That's when he figured something wasn't right.

Luckily for him, XANA complied by launching an attack, therefore utilizing a return to the past, so none of it every happened, except the fact that Odd was a vampire. But that still didn't solve their problem.

Aelita pondered for a while longer, glancing eventually out the window and back—

"Holy cow!" She jolted, loosing her balance on the rolling chair and ending up on the ground. Right outside her window sat a dark, sinister-looking crow who was staring at her eerily. How long had it been there? she wondered, trying to calm herself down again. And why was it there in the first place?

She quickly scanned for XANA signs anywhere on the animal, but found none. It was just an ordinary crow after all.

Ordinary maybe, but certainly not normal. It may not have been possessed by XANA, but it was definitely possessed by something.

After another second, the crow decided it had had enough, and flew away with a caw.

Aelita slowly settled herself back on her chair, picking up her math book again. She nervously tried to joke about her previous statement. "Holy cow? Holy CROW is more like it."

• • •

The sky was grey and the mood just as colourful, as the rest of the day progressed. Aelita's thoughts as clouded as the weather, she strolled around the school's perimeter with her two fanged friends, in relative silence.

Until Odd broke the ice absent mindedly. "Have you guys ever noticed that Yumi likes black licorice?"

"No," Jeremie replied bluntly.

"Really?" Aelita asked, showing 10 times more enthusiasm than Jeremie.

"Yeah," Odd nodded.

"Yuck, I can't stand the stuff," she remembered the one time she had tried it and was spitting it out seconds later.

"Me neither," Jeremie agreed.

"Huh, I don't mind it..." by the sounds of it, Odd's thoughts were in other places. The others didn't mind and didn't bother to interrogate him, knowing that if it was of any importance he'd surely share it. That, and they were lost in thought too.

"Hey, what do you guys think of that new kid?" Aelita asked, remembering a new face that had appeared in some of her classes.

"Who? Charlie Muler?" Odd recalled (he was always good with remembering names).

She nodded.

"That guy gives everyone the cold shoulder. The other day I said hi and he stared me down like I had kicked his puppy or something."

Jeremie concurred. "Yeah. Mrs Hertz told me to fill him in on what we had been studying this term in science, and he totally ignored me."

"Oh, sounds like a real wonder," Aelita said.

"You haven't had the pleasure of meeting Mr warm and fuzzy?" Odd joked.

She shook her head. "Not yet."

"Huh, lucky you," Jeremie mumbled.

Before a silence could settle, the group happened to walk by the guy coincidentally. Jeremie glanced over to the bench where Charlie sat reading. "Well what do you know?"

Odd snorted to his pals, "Speak of the devil."

The dark haired kid glanced up from his book, returning their stares with his cold, dark eyes. It was almost as if Charlie emmitted some kind of looming aura, or carried a negative feeling around him that something was going to go wrong. It was starting to get on Aelita's nerves.

Charlie's emotionless eyes followed the trio as they passed by silently.

Once they get past and stop feeling so intimidated, Odd continued. "Gosh what a loner. Creepy one at that."

"Not true," Jeremie shook his head. "I heard the soccer team(technically football because they're in Europe) took him in."

He scoffed, "Yeah, but it's full of weirdoes anyways. Do you see the kind of stuff Ulrich has to put up with?"

"Just Ulrich? Why? Did you quit the soccer team?" Aelita inquired.

"Yeah, like I said, too many weirdoes."

The others couldn't help but laugh.

A/N:

Weak chapter end, I know, but it can't be witty and amazing always. Slowly, I'm trudging through this, thanks for all the reviews, and for the sympathy regarding the demanding schoolwork. As before, if any of you can think of good vampire jokes and would be so kind as to share them, I am always open to adding comedy to my story. Thanks!


	5. Same old, same difference

Yumi stood in an open street, shivering and wrapping her blazer more tightly around her as the breeze swept up another sea of Autumn leaves, rolling them along the road in swirls. Where was he? She checked the time on her phone impatiently (watches are so yesterday). Although it had only been 3 minutes, she was already a little fidgety, and less than appreciative of the cold.

"Hey," Odd skipped over cheerfully. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No problem," Yumi smiled, as they started off down the lane. It was a windy Sunday morning and the two didn't really know where they were headed, they were just headed somewhere.

"Hey would you mind if we stopped here for a minute? There's a new book I wanted to check out," Yumi pointed to the library they were nearing.

"Oh, yeah. Sure," although it WASN'T Odd's fave place to be, it didn't hurt to make a pit stop. Besides, he'd been meaning to drop by anyways to see if the new issues of some comics had come in.

As they entered, Yumi instinctively started wandering over to the fiction novel area, while Odd roamed more towards the comics, a quick glance telling him that they didn't have the right issues. That, or someone had already taken it out. Either way, Odd couldn't find it and started off to find Yumi, further down in the musty building.

Meanwhile across the library, Yumi had found it, the book she was looking for. She had been a couple sentences into the first page when her shoulder brushed up against someone else's. Automatically, she moved out of the way, murmuring a little apology.

"Sorry," replied the other person, but instead of continuing down the isle, they stayed put. "Oh, Yumi. Fancy meeting you here."

She looked up, a little disappointed because of the interruption. "Hi Theo."

"So, how's the book?" Theo asked her quietly. "I've heard it's supposed to be really great."

Yumi shrugged, "So far so good."

"That's cool. I—"

Odd rounded the corner, stepping into the conversation with a slightly confused look on his face. "Hey there."

Theo gave a small wave.

"You ready to go, Yumi?" Odd turned to her.

She closed the book, clutching it with her palm along the spine. "Yup."

"I'll see you guys at school," he said as they started back to the check-out counter.

"Bye," Yumi gave a friendly smile. It was almost a little awkward. They hadn't spoken much since the dance, and she didn't really know what to talk about. The conversations always fell into an uneasy silence.

After getting the book checked out, Yumi and Odd left the library, and continued down the street.

"Where's our next stop?" Odd kicked a loose pebble down the sidewalk, watching it jump across the pavement.

"How should I know? You're the creative one."

"Hmm," he cocked an eyebrow fiendishly. "Ok. You want imagination, you got it."

• • •

Jeremie stretched out his fingers before laying them down on a familiar keyboard (so well used that the letters on the keys had begun to wear off).

Aelita sat down a little ways away with her own laptop in hand. "Alrighty. What's on the menu today?"

"Oh not much. Just an anti-virus program with skid updates on the side," He started up the computer.

She sighed, almost depressed, "Same old, same old."

"Yeah," Jeremie didn't seem to notice, or be bothered by this.

With a hum of boredom and hint of misery, she opened up her laptop and got ready as she always did, to work on whatever Jeremie figured important. As usual, she had gotten into the habit of just not having weekends.

• • •

"Orange Julius?" A short walk later, Yumi was looking quizzically at the shop that they had stopped infront of.

"That's right. Because I was _imagining_ a hotdog," Odd explained.

"Oh," she snorted. "Well in that case..."

Two minutes later, Odd had received his hotdog, while Yumi was handed a small pina colada smoothie. Another minute later, they were tossing out their empty cup and cleaned out container, groaning as they did.

"Brain freeze," Yumi squinted her eyes shut.

"Heheheheh," Odd chuckled, rubbing his ever-scrawny stomach. "Alright, now let me show you what _I_ would call a Sunday morning."

Yumi looked a little worried.

• • •

At the same time, back at Kadic, Ulrich was in his room, staring out the window blankly. There was _nothing_, what so ever, to do to keep him entertained.

All the good video games had been played, and movies watched. Odd was MIA, probably off somewhere having a wonderful time, the Einstein's were being their usual boring selves, and he didn't dare think about calling Yumi. Not after the dance. And that left him with zilch.

Unless he figured dog walking and/or grooming was fun, which he didnt. Ulrich looked over at Kiwi who was sleeping in his half-open drawer. When was the last time Odd gave that dog a bath?

He didn't want to think about it. Trying to clear his mind he sighed and gazed back out the window. And then he saw someone bizarre speed through the courtyard like he was being tailed by the fuzz.

That was funny, Ulrich thought. He knew he had seen him before somewhere. It was déjà vu at a distance, but somehow the shady figure both didn't appeal to Ulrich, making him feel like he would need to keep his guard up if he ever met the guy, and also reminded him. It was like trying to recal a forgotten dream, which usually didn't work for Ulrich.

Gee it really did look like the kid was absconding with something. Ulrich couldn't see it past his dark coat but the boy's shifty gaze was suspicious.

Ulrich shrugged it off. Despite the weird vibe he was getting, it was probably just his imagination. He accepted that he might never know what the gothic boy had had with him, if anything, and just let it go. He had bigger problems to worry about, bigger fish to fry.

• • •

After a long long morning of popping in and out of comic kiosks, and vintage movie shoppes, the two finally decided to call it quits and get some lunch. Odd suggested his sister's friend's small cafe, and to Yumi's surprise, he wasn't kidding when he said they made the best sandwiches.

"Wow, this is really good," Yumi said between bites.

"What did I tell you? Stephan here is the best salami sandwich slicer-upper ever," Odd was almost finished his _third_ sandwich.

"Thanks Odd, but I learned from the best," the tall guy smiled cheerfully. "Speaking of which, how's Pauline doing?"

"Eh, you know, same old same old," Odd shrugged.

"Well, that can't be all bad," Stephan reasoned, seeming to recal memories in his mind.

"We'd better get going, but it was nice meeting you," Yumi saw that she and Odd had both wrapped up, and slid her coat off the back of the chair.

"Yeah, you too," he replied, scooping up the empty plates. "See you around Odd."

"Bye," as they exited, Odd caught something in the corner of his eye. It was Charlie, sitting in the far corner of the cafe with his nose in a newspaper.

"Huh," He figured it was quite a coincidence.

"What?" Yumi asked as the exited.

"Charlie," he gestured back into the cafe.

"Who?"

She hasn't met him yet, he reminded himself. It was probably the grade difference. "The new kid at school. Gee, it's like he's been following us," Odd mumbled wearily.

"Nervous?" Yumi joked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "He might tell Mrs hertz that I was out and about instead of studying for the chemistry test tomorrow."

She just laughed. Checking the time on her phone, she saw a text that she hadn't noticed before. It was sent ten minutes ago by her mom:

_You promised to help me clean remember?_

"Awww," she groaned.

Odd raised a curious eyebrow.

Yumi turned her phone around, showing him the text. Frowning, she explained it briefly. "I guess I better go. A promise is a promise."

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he waved cheerfully as she slipped away in the other direction.

• • •

Later that day, a knock came to Aelita's door, but she didn't hear it. A few seconds later, the knock was back again, and still no response.

"Aelita? Hello," Jeremie opened the door to find her asleep at her desk, face down on the math text book. He came over, shaking her shoulder gently. "Aelita, it's time for dinner."

She lifted her head with a yawn. "Yeeeah, ok." The two headed down to dinner.

In the lunch room, the only one to be found (besides Aelita and Jeremie) was Odd, who was busy scarfing down the shepard's pie like he hadn't eaten for weeks.

"Hey there," Aelita sat down at the table.

Odd responded with a wave.

"Where's Ulrich gone to?" Jeremie wondered out loud.

Odd swallowed the food before speaking. "Soccer practice. Didn't you hear about the schedule change?"

The other two shook their heads.

"Well with all the sports that go one here, the field was booked most of the time—except at lunch because everyone is eating. And that's why the soccer team took the opportunity. They ate earlier," Odd explained.

"Oh ok," Aelita nodded. "That makes sense."

Out of the blue, Jeremie paused eating and sniffed the air. "You smell like (sniff sniff) black licorice," he said to Odd, who looked at him quizzically.

Aelita snorted. "Maybe it's because he's been hanging out withmadame black licorice today," She started to laugh at her own joke. It was no secret of Odd and Yumi's whereabouts today.

"What can I say if I have a way with the ladies?" Odd smirked.

"Eh-ehem," Jeremie looked at him seriously.

Odd raised his hands in defense. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Yeah we went to the library this morning, so what? Are you going to accuse the forty/fifty other people who were there of going out with Yumi too?"

Jeremie was quiet.

"I didn't think so," Odd made his point. "And besides, if anything it was _Yumi_ who was coming on to me. Not _my_ fault." He scooped another fork-ful into him mouth. "Nope."

Aelita and Jeremie exchanged glances.


	6. Bitter, misleading truth

"Ok boys, do it like you mean it! That's it!" Jim was jumping around like a clumsy butterfly, blowing his whistle so often that his face was starting to turn red.

The soccer team was busy darting across the field, back and forth, working out new plays that Jim had concocted. Currently, Ulrich was a little annoyed with Nicholas's lack of common sense. _If you're going to pass, make sure someone from the OTHER TEAM isn't right there, close enough to get it if you miss._

Despite Ulrich's mental criticism, that's exactly what Nicholas did. Passed it straight to Herve on the other team, giving them lots of time and opportunity to get another goal.

Herve to Charlie, Charlie to Theo, Theo past Tristan and into the net.

"Yeah!" He cheered, getting multiple high-fives. Ulrich scowled. This hadn't been the first time of the practice.

"Nice job Theo!" Jim exclaimed. "I was definitely right to make you our team captain."

"Thanks coach," he smiled.

"And nice assist Charlie. You're really getting the hang of this," Jim clapped a hand down on the boy's shoulder. "You know, this reminds me of the time I was in the FIFA world cup."

"Really Jim? You were in the FIFA games?" Nicholas asked.

"Yes actually, well I was more of an alternate—but, I don't have time to talk about it. Practice is over. Alright boys, go home and get some beauty sleep."

• • •

The next day classes continued normally, and it was all over much faster than they anticipated. Soon, everyone was back in their dorms studying, or whatever they did after school on a rainy day.

"Hey," Ulrich turned to Odd, who barely heard his pal past the music blaring through his headphones. He slipped them off, "Yeah?"

"You know, Jeremie and Aelita told me an interesting piece of news today," Ulrich began, with a cold, unforgiving look in his eye.

"Oh yeah?" Odd asked, not noticing.

"Yeah. You and Yumi."

The room suddenly exploded with silence, a bomb that had caught Odd by surprise like the trap it sort of was. He was now just a caged animal, with Ulrich poking and prodding him like a Doctor Shrank wanna-be.

"Oh," Odd's words, like his thoughts, stumbled over each other unsurely. "Um, yeah. What about it?"

"I thought we were friends, Odd. I thought I could trust you." Ulrich's eyes were inflamed with betrayal and spite.

"I'm not going out with her Ulrich!" He insisted.

"Oh yeah? Because that's what the school is saying, that's what SHE'S saying," the anger couldn't fully hide the hurt in his tone and expression.

"I'm telling you, buddy, we are not together," Odd said dead-serious.

"Really?" Ulrich asked, not having dropped it at all.

"Yes." Odd nodded honestly.

"I can't believe you." He got up, jaw clenched in new-found hatred, and left, probably for the forest. They both knew he'd be back, but not any time soon.

• • •

It was raining, but Ulrich didn't care. He stomped out into the downpour, barely past the cafeteria before he broke into a run. The forest had always been where he retreated to, a place of solitude, setting him in the frame of mind not unlike that of a monk's meditation.

Even before he reached the thicket, he was already drenched. As usual, he hopped up in his favourite tree, although it was slipperier this time, and took a long breath. _Yumi._

_Yumi and Odd. How did this happen?_

He spent long minutes fighting with the issue, and with his own emotions, coming to the conclusion that he must be some kind of worthless piece of...

Thankful for the rain, his eyes started to moisten. But before he could shed a tear, he could have sworn he heard a small murmur, like someones voice past the falling rain.

It didn't matter, not really, and Ulrich wouldn't have payed attention to it had it not been getting louder and louder. Closer and closer.

He wiped away his glassy eyes, which were soon covered again by falling droplets, and strained to see who was speaking. Past the leaves that hadn't yet flown off and tree branches, he spotted a trio of people huddled under a dark umbrella.

"How are we going to get it?" he recognized the first voice as Nicholas'. Nobody else had a voice that dumb.

"Yeah, it's not like they grow on trees," Ulrich could see Herve's face clearly, or almost clearly, but still didn't know who the third person was. "It's a good idea, but how are we supposed to get that kind of money?"

'_Money?_' Ulrich mouthed to himself curiously. It seemed like those guys were going to a lot of trouble for something, and by the sound of it, something expencive. He wasn't sure he liked the sound of it.

"What if I told you..." he barely heard the third guy speak, partly because he had his back turned to Ulrich, and was behind the umbrella, and partly because he had a deep and low voice.

"That's great!" Nicholas exclaimed.

"It'll never work," Herve shook his head.

Ulrich didn't hear anything of how the other guy responded except murmurs, and shifted in the tree, trying to listen or at least get a glance past that huge umbrella (he couldn't even see the guy's hair colour). As he shifted he was able to catch a glimps of the guys outfit, but in doing so he shook the tree branch. The rain had slowly been letting up, and the chestnuts that fell from the tree and crackled suspiciously as they tumbled through the bushes bellow.

The guy stopped in mid sentence, and Herve stated the obvious with his squawky, annoying voice. "Somebody's here."

Ulrich froze, trying to still the tree, and didn't make a sound. He was happy that his attire (while not rain-proof) was decent camouflage.

"I told you guys this was a bad idea," Nicholas complained, looking around with wide eyes.

"Let's go before we get caught," the third guy suggested, Ulrich having an even stronger feeling of deja vu, when hearing his voice.

As they ran off, Ulrich began to put two and two together as best he could. The deep voice, the dark umbrella, the top-to-bottom black outfit; there was only one person he could think of that fit that description. Charlie Muler.

• • •

Aelita lay in her bed, half sitting against propped up pillows with her chemistry homework in hand. It was going fine, and she almost enjoyed listening to the pitter-patter of the raindrops against her window. Although at the same time, she was content with not being caught outside in such a storm. It would be getting caught up the creek without a paddle, the metaphoric paddle being a thick, cozy rain coat.

Right then Aelita thought she smelled something a little different in her room. It was a bizzare smell, but it only lasted for a moment and knowing the old heater in her room, she wouldn't be surprised if it was burning dust again or something.

For some reason the rain made her think of the wizard of oz. Probably because of how the wicked witch melted because of just a bucket of water. It was almost kind of funny the way people thought about mythical creatures, always so skeptical and harsh, or the complete opposite. Some people were head over heels, with common sense out the window, and very committed to the creature they studied. Aelita herself wouldn't be at all surprised if witches did exist. Or werewolves, or aliens. Stranger things have been proven true; like Jeremie and Odd for example.

• • •

After taking a shower (and drying off his clothes), Ulrich ended up with Jeremie in the latter's dorm, venting his feelings with a fiery passion. Despite time and effort, the feelings were still fresh, churning in his mind like some evil sticky mound of butter.

"How could he do such a thing? Doesn't he get that me and Yumi are together already?" Ulrich asked indignantly, sitting on the bed with his face rested on his hands.

"But you're not," His brainy friend reminded him, while not missing a key as he typed. After years and years of practice, multitasking had just become an automatic thing for Jeremie. He probably had XANA to thank for that.

"What?" Ulrich was confused.

"You're not together."

"Well—but," he was cut off.

"You're not dating, you're not in any type of relationship really. Why are you so surprised?" Jeremie's bluntness was so...blunt.

"Wh— no, this isn't Yumi's fault. This isn't about her."

"Isn't it? It takes two to tango," he reminded, turning his chair around to face him. "And besides, didn't Odd say Yumi was the one into him, not the other way around?"

"You excpect me to trust that liar?!" Ulrich exclaimed angrily, jumping to his feet.

"How many times has he lied to you, or any of us, before?" Jeremie reasonably asked (despite Odd's whole denial of vampirism that only he and Aelita had witnessed).

"That's not the point!" Ulrich yelled.

"So it's Odd's fault for being so attractive?"

Ulrich paced slowly across the width of the room until he thought of something. "No." He scowled, soon coming up with a better idea. "It's Theo's fault."

'_Oh boy, can't wait to hear this one,_' Jeremie thought to himself a little cruely.

"If he hadn't shown up at the Halloween dance with his two bit Romeo act, I wouldn't have had to step in, then Yumi wouldn't have gotten upset, then Odd wouldnt have ..." He almost hissed as he spoke through his gritted teeth, "gone out with her."

Jeremie flipped back around in his seat. There was a small silence that lasted only long enough for the tension to drop, and Ulrich to just calm down, and find himself sitting on the bed again. "Urgh this is unbelieveable..." he groaned, long and hard, as if it would magically make all his problems go away.

"You know Ulrich, moaning like that isn't going to solve all your problems," Jeremie quipped.

"Does it look like I care?" he stopped, instead turning around and hitting his head against the wall.

It was Jeremie's turn to sigh, and try to tune out the pounding of his pal against he wall, enough to concentrate on typing. He mumbled to himself, "I'm almost sorry I got involved."

A few minutes later, Jeremie's phone rang with an incoming call. "Does everyone need my advice today or what?" He asked no one in particular.

Ulrich ceased banging his head into the wall to quip a sarcastic comment. "Maybe you should start your own blog."

"Ha ha," he replied before answering the call. "Hello?"

"Jeremie!" It was Aelita's voice, or at least a panicky version of it.

"What is it Aelita? What's wrong?"

"Are you in your room!?"

"Yes, why?" Her voice was staring to freak Jeremie out too, and he still just wanted to know what was going on.

Even Ulrich had turned around wondering what the deal was.

Aelita screamed into the receiver, "Get out! GET OUT NOW!"


	7. Health Hazard

Jeremie's mind raced, "What are you talking about?!"

"There's no time to explain, just go!"

He tried to get a hold of himself, but Aelita's words echoed disorientingly in his head. 'Get out. GET OUT!'

"What is it Jeremie?" Ulrich asked.

He didn't waste time by answering. Jumping to his feet he grabbed Ulrich by the wrist, clutching the phone tightly with his other hand.

"What? What are you—" Ulrich was cut off as Jeremie swung open the door, but before he could race them out he saw a gigantic and thick cloud that filled the hallway.

"What is that!?" Ulrich gasped, soon covering his face with a sleeve.

Jeremie instantly held his breath, but as he inhaled, he began to choke. It was only a second until Ulrich was coughing too. Neither had any idea what they had just stepped into, and at that very moment all they knew is that it was hazardous, and they needed to get out.

Deciding not to waste more time, and precious oxygen, the two made a break for the end of the hall but their sprint turned into a stagger long before.

Jeremie was cursing how long the hallway was, and wishing his room wasn't right at the end of it opposite the staircase. Beside him, Ulrich was trying to breathe as little of the dense gas as possible, and not being very successful. Both of them were slowly getting more and more dazed, and their vision clouded (though they could barely differentiate between the clouds in their eyes and the clouds in the hallway).

Without warning, they were swiftly pulled into a dorm by someone, where they began to regain consciousness.

They coughed, Jeremie finally rubbing his eyes and looking up to identify their hero. "Odd," _Speak of the devil_, Jeremie thought it ironic

Ulrich didn't say a word as he straightened up, avoiding looking anywhere near Odd.

"You guys ok?" Odd asked, concerned for both of them.

"Yeah," Ulrich scoffed moodily, arms crossed.

"Nice save, thanks," Jeremie had to appreciate that at least.

"Don't thank me yet," Odd glanced at the bottom of the door where a small amount of the gas still snuck in. It wouldn't be long until the room was full of it too.

Odd unhitched the window, pushing it open as far as it would go. He turned to the others before swinging his feet out the ledge. "Come on. It's the only way."

Jeremie, even Ulrich, looked at Odd like he was crazy, but it quickly dawned on them that there was a lot more method to this madness than first met the eye.

"Let's go!" Odd urged, slipping entirely out the window, but stopping on the roof to make sure the others followed.

Jeremie may not have been a fan of danger, or scaling the side of the school, but he valued his life more than his fears. He approached the window too, although was stopped just before he reached it by Ulrich.

"What are you doing? Stop wasting time and come on," he told his friend, brushing Ulrich's hand off his shoulder.

"Jeremie, I have vertigo," Ulrich reminded, glancing apprehensively at the window. "I can't do it."

This was idiotic. Jeremie replied quickly and sternly. "Which are you more afraid of, heights or choking to death?"

Uneasily but surely, Ulrich followed Jeremie and came to the sill.

The two of them met Odd outside on the roof, the wind whipping their hair around like mad. Clinging to the wall, the whole school watched as the trio of boys climbed down and across a ledge, and down again, until they finally reached the ground. To their surprise they found themselves at the center of applause.

• • •

Gently humming, Yumi was sitting with her sketchbook on the bed when she got the call from Aelita.

"Oh hey." She said casually. Aelita didn't waste time and soon informed Yumi about the new development, and explained that she had just been speaking to Jeremie who was still in the building.

"What!?" Yumi exclaimed. "Where are Ulrich and Odd?"

There was a slight pause. "I-I don't know."

Yumi tossed her book aside, feeling absolutely distressed.

"Oh wait! Who's that coming out the..." Aelita gasped on the other end. "Yumi, you have to come see this."

Within literally an instant, Yumi had tossed her pencil down and was off the phone, out the door, and on her bicycle, taking off down the street.

Panting by the time she pulled up, she was right on time to watch the boys climb their last ledge and make it down near the crowd safely.

• • •

"Excuse me, pardon me," Aelita pushed through the crowd, being one of the first to congratulate the boys. "That was amazing! Are you ok?"

"A little shaken up I think," Jeremie glanced at his pals.

Odd finished the thought. "But we're all in one piece."

Jim soon bounded over, jolly grin across his face. "Oh wow! Stern, Della Robia, I'm not surprised, but Belpois, wow. Way to show some skill," he clapped a hand down on the boy's shoulder. You could tell just by looking at his face that Jim wanted to add something about Jeremie's muscles, or lack thereof, but he decided against it.

"Thanks Jim," Jeremie replied, not seeming to notice.

"You know, this reminds me of when I was—"

Ulrich cut Jim off, "Shouldn't we be heading to the meeting spot?"

A confused expression crossed Jim's face.

"That's right, it might still be dangerous around here because of the fumes," Aelita added smartly.

"Excellent point Stones! Let's go," Jim led the way towards where the majority of the kids were standing, and herded the rest over. The gang followed, in the rear, but Ulrich stopped Odd.

"Listen, I'm sorry, I lost my head earlier, and you probably just saved our lives, so thanks," he never had been great at wording things.

"No problem bud," Odd smiled back. "I'm sorry too."

Trying to keep a calm demeanor, Ulrich continued, him and Odd slowly ambling towards the pack also. "It's just that—" Ulrich stopped at the sight of Yumi who appeared infront of them.

A little out of breath (from biking, then darting over) she asked what everyone had asked. "Hey are you guys.." she could sense something was up, but she couldn't tell what, so the question ended with a hint of uncertainty, "..ok?"

"Yeah," Odd replied a little lifelessly.

"Fine," Ulrich mumbled under his breath, not looking directly at her.

Yumi was confused and wished at that minute that she could read minds. There was something different, the mood was denser. "Is there something wrong?"

"No," they replied almost in unison, giving Yumi the feeling that she was missing something. And they weren't about to fill her in either.

An unresolved silence hung for a moment, until they heard Jeremie call to them to hurry up. The trio followed, without another word.

It was lucky for the students that they had all gone to dinner in the cafeteria when the gas leak started. Except of course Jeremie, Odd and Ulrich, the first of which usually forgot about dinner anyways and the latter two having other things on their minds.

Once they got a safe distance from the building, Jeremie immediately addressed an important issue that was on his mind since who knows when.

Turning to the silent others he started, "Mysterious leak? Dangerous gas?"

"You think it's XANA?" Yumi's question was rhetorical.

"What else could it be?" Jeremie asked.

'How about just a gas leak?' Odd wanted to offer, but he thought better of it. Better safe than sorry probably.

Because Jeremie left his laptop in his room, they had to go to the factory to double check anyways, so they made themselves scarce.

• • •

Later, in the factory they all surrounded Jeremie and the super computer, just waiting for the 'ok' to hit the scanners. But instead of a 'yup' of agreement, what they heard from Jeremie was better described as a gasp of shock. "I don't believe it," his jaw dropped.

"What?" Aelita pushed Odd out of the way and took a gander at the supercomputer's screen. "What?"

"Could somebody please tell us what's going on?" Ulrich sounded a bit frustrated.

"I-it's not XANA," their kid-genius sounded like he was trying to convince himself, as well as them.

"What?" He and Aelita were met with three gazes of confusion.

"So you're saying it was just a casual leak of lethal gas?" Odd asked.

Jeremie pushed up his glasses and re-checked the super scan for the umpteenth time. "For once, seems like."

"That's too much of a coincidence," Ulrich wasn't convinced.

Yumi nodded. "I agree. Are you sure the scan's working?"

"I just updated it a couple days ago. It's working alright."

"This time it really is just a coincidence," Aelita clarified.

There was some silence as they stood there awkwardly, for once discovering that they DIDN'T need to save the word.

"There's a first for everything I guess," Odd mumbled.

Jeremie nodded, getting off of the large chair. "We should probably get back to school.

• • •

By the time they got back, the school was surrounded by tall men wearing all types of gear including gas masks, and things. Little did the gang know there was twice as many geared up men inside the school as outside, opening all the windows and doors, letting the gas diffuse into the late afternoon air.

"Alright kids, just pretend it's lunch break," Jim loud-speakered to the school audience.

"Lunch break that never ends, alright!" Odd cheered to his friends.

"And like a lunch break, all buildings are out of bounds," He continued, turning and shifting to address a plethora of crowded kids.

Odd frowned, mumbling to himself, "Aww."

"In this weather? Won't we all freeze?" Yumi piped up.

Jim raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't finished. All buildings are out of bounds EXCEPT, the rec room, and the library."

The crowd cheered before swiftly dispersing, despite Jim's best efforts to yell more demands at them. "Whatever you do, stay on the school grounds!"

"Pfft, like that's gonna happen," Ulrich scoffed as everyone broke away. Since the rec room was quickly flooded with people, and the library after it, the gang lingered around in the woods for a bit until deciding they weren't fans of the chilling wind and booked it back into the sewers.

"Sorry guys, I have something else I need to take care of," Ulrich waved to them quickly before running off, a hint of adventurousness in his eye.

Jeremie shrugged it off. "While he does that, we may as well make some more tweaks on that new program," he was speaking mostly to Aelita.

She nodded.

With Yumi and Odd silently in tow, they climbed down the ladder and hopped on their boards—and scooters.

**A/N:**

**Sorry for the delay, I was starting to get behind on stuff (like this fic) and posting more than I was writing, but now I'm relatively caught up. Updates will (hopefully!) be more regular now, but there's just one more thing. I was thinking of making a fourth Little Vampire, since you guys like it so much and it's so awesome to write for me. The only problem is, it'd probably have a Christmassy theme, but by the time I post it it will likely be a week or two after Christmas. What I'm trying to ask is if it would be better for me to just skip the Christmassy time (because by new years everyone might be sick of it) or not. What do you all think?**

**Any and all ideas are appreciated.**


	8. Turmoil in paradise

As their boards screeched around another bend, the lyoko warriors minus one continued on their travels. Well they did until Odd began to slow down his skateboard, nudging Yumi to do the same.

"What?" She asked, picking up her skateboard to walk alongside him. "What is it?"

"I wanted to talk to you," Odd fumbled with his skateboard uncharacteristically.

Yumi wasn't really sure what to make of this, but communication of any kind was better than no communication at all. "Ok. What about?"

"You remember when we went to the library? And the movies?" Odd asked. Though there was no reason why she wouldn't because those both happened pretty recently.

"Yes."

"That was really nice. But-"

"Yeah, it was nice," she reminisced. "Sorry, I kind of cut you off, but also, I meant to ask if we could do it again sometime," she suggested.

"That's sort of what I wanted to talk about," Odd began again, hoping she'd listen this time.

"You do want to? Ok, awesome. Friday?"

"No, no," he was trying to stay focused.

"Thursday?" Yumi offered.

"I was talking about something different, just listen."

"So Friday then?"

Odd ran a hand through his hair, getting a little irritated and annoyed, "Sure—just listen a minute."

Yumi did pretty much the exact opposite. "Cool! Can't wait till then!" She threw down her board, jumping on it immediately and zipping down the way.

"Wait—Yumi!" Odd called, but there was no way she'd listen. There was something up with her lately. Something weird—and it made Odd a bit annoyed.

With nothing but his skateboard in hand, Odd continued walking even after Yumi turned a corner and he lost sight of her (Aelita and Jeremie were likely already at the factory by this point because they hadn't bothered to stop). The soft sound of the running water beside him was drowned out by the nagging chatter of the voice inside his head. _Oh nice going Odd, you go to tell Yumi it's off between you guys and end up planning another date in the process. Great job Romeo._

Odd saw his breath as he groaned, unaware of the echo it would create throughout the sewer. At the same time he noticed how cold it was down there. The constant lack of sunlight didn't do much to improve the multiple frozen puddles or icicles that decorated the storm sewer, making it almost like winter come-early.

Putting that out of his mind for a minute he figured there wasn't much point to heading to the lab now, it would just be the geniuses busy with their programs again. So, Odd turned around, going back to Kadic.

• • •

Meanwhile at the school, Ulrich was sneaking around in search of the troublesome trio; namely Nicholas Herve and Charlie. He didn't want to say anything infront of the others, but this was too much of a coincidence. First they're plotting suspiciously in the forest, in the rain, and now this gas leak. Even though Jeremie said it was just a normal accident, Ulrich still had his suspicions that a sinister force may have been at fault, just not the sinister force they excpected.

He came back down the path towards the school with eyes wide open. They could be anywhere...but Ulrich figured he would start at the rec room.

As he wandered over, he recalled what he had earlier overheard of their conversation. It was about getting something, something that Herve said didn't grow on trees— Ulrich figured something hard to come by. And another thing about money. By the way they had spoken, he was sure they meant lots of it. And whatever it was, it sounded pretty incriminating already, even without all the details.

He peeked into the rec room through the window and saw that it had reached maximum capacity, but regardless he didn't spot any of the three he was seeking.

A bitter gust of wind made him wish he'd snagged his hoodie before they jumped out the window. Next he turned to the library, which would have been easier to get to if he was allowed to short cut through the main classroom building— which he wasn't. But on the other hand the brisk walk ahead wouldn't be so bad.

Fifteen minutes later Ulrich reacheded the library, starting to lose feeling in his limbs, and not particularly happy with his previously favourite T-shirt. He entered the building and felt his skin tingle with the sudden warmth.

The walk to the library was short, shorter than the length of the hallway, and as he opened the heavy door he attracted a few mindless stares, but continued inside anyways.

Trying not to arouse suspicion he crept up and down the isles, seeing bookshelf, after bookshelf, after bookshelf, and no sign of Charlie, Herve or Nicholas.

A dissapointed sigh exhaled, Ulrich dropped into a creaky wooden chair and scrunched his face into a frown. What was the point of looking anyways? There were tens of millions of other places they could be at the school, and besides that was no guarantee. They could have easily snuck out into the city, or into a school building, or something, making them impossible to track.

Ulrich rested his head on his hands and stared out the window just because it was something to do—not because there was anything going on outside, which he _thought_ there wasn't.

You see, while we consider Ulrich's frustrating situation, we fail to notice that at the moment he is baring witness to a few shadows whipping away into the forest. We, as the readers are too caught up in what's going to happen, and what we expect, and who we suspect of being what, to see it. Ulrich on the other hand, did see it.

Although we don't know much of what went through his mind at that very moment, we do know that he knocked over a couple chairs trying to get out of the library right then, with an expression the librarian could only call madly determined.

• • •

Odd was slouching as he came down the path, nearing the school with every step. He didn't think much of it, until he saw Ulrich darting past, heading to the south side of the forest.

"Hey! Ulrich!" Odd tried to call him over but Ulrich didn't seem to hear—or want to hear. _And perfect timing for it too_, Odd thought sarcastically, _just when I wanted to talk to him._

Where was he running to anyway? Oh well, it didn't really make a difference to Odd. May as well get the awkward conversation out of the way as soon as possible.

• • •

Ulrich didn't waste a second getting on the trio's tail. Another meeting in the woods eh? This time he would catch it all, and not slip up. He just had to know what they were planning.

It was a little surprising when they stopped infront of the science building (at least giving Ulrich a minute to catch up and double check that it was really them—it was). It wasn't a minute until they were inside, luckily for Ulrich only on the bottom floor.

Only as he took a watch spot in a nearby bush did he heard the familiar murmur of weakly articulated words.

"Mmmm...mmm...gas leak sure was-"

"What are we listening to?" Ulrich jumped at the sound of an unexpected voice. He was suddenly aware of a whispering person that had materialized nearby him.

"What the-" He started to exclaim, immediately regretting it, and shoving Odd (beside him) and himself bellow the window sill before heads turned and saw them.

"What are you doing here?" Ulrich hissed at his roommate.

"I could ask you the same thing. You're the one who just pushed me down," he reminded, on his hands and knees.

"Well," Ulrich sighed. His cover was pretty much blown anyways, and he didn't want to explain now, so... He beckoned Odd to follow him away from the bushes and into a less suspicious area of the schoolyard. Once there he jumbled out an answer. "I had a hunch ok? I was following it up. Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Yes actually. Right here," Odd replied, relatively straight faced for once. "I'm sorry about what's going on between me and Yumi. Honestly, it wasn't my idea, and as soon as it rose beyond friendship I lost interest."

The emotions rushing through Ulrich's head were mostly jealousy and irritated thoughts along the lines of how Odd always got the best, even if he didn't want it. Without trying he can have anything his heart desires. It must be so easy for him. But he tried to push away those thoughts because no matter how easy Odd may have had it, he was still Ulrich's best buddy, and nobody knew them better than they did each other. That's how he knew Odd was telling the truth, and because of that, Ulrich found it hard to stay angry at him.

As the frown faded he replied, "Ok, ya. I accept your apology."

"Umm," Odd shoved his hands into his pockets sheepishly. "There is one more thing."

"What?"

"Well, er, when I was trying to break it off with Yumi a little while ago, I somehow accidentally got talked into another date."

Ulrich's mood dropped again, although this time while his mouth only said in a let-down tone, "Odd," his eyes spoke entirely different words: _how could you do that? How many times are you going to stab me in the back?_

"I'm sorry," Odd's gaze fell guiltily. "I'm still going to tell her off. The next time I see her."

"Yeah...ok..." Ulrich began walking, but Odd stopped him to go in the other direction.

"I haven't had dinner yet, have you?" he asked.

"Guess not," past all the madness of the leak, and going to the factory and back, and finding Herve, Nicholas and Charlie, and thinking about Odd and Yumi, he had forgotten about dinner.

• • •

One meal later, Odd and Ulrich exited the lunchroom with their stomached satisfied just as Jim jogged by with his trusty loudspeaker in hand (who ever gave that to him anyways? Worst Christmas present ever for the commanding gym teacher). He was shouting something about the dorms to nobody in particular until he spotted Odd and Ulrich, announcing it to them too. "Dorms are open again! It's safe!"

"Perfect timing," Odd inspected the darkness. Whether his voice croaked a little because he was coming down with a cold, or because he had just spent a dinner time in silence next to Ulrich, I couldn't tell you.

As Jim sped away, the boys set their sights on the dorm building, both happy to be leaving the cold night. But before they reached the entrance, Ulrich glanced up at the sky and noticed something. "Huh, full moon."

"Huh," Odd didn't give it a second thought...at first. And then a cold chill that wasnt just the wind, swept past him.

While he re-thought, turning into something of a wide-eyed fraidy cat, Ulrich continued obliviously. "Maybe that's why all these weird things are happening all at once." And he couldn't have been more right.

A/N:

Since I only got one review (thanks so much Nightfury18!) and in it was said that I should write a Christmassy Little Vampire fic despite the lateness, so I will! I hope you liked this chapter because I'm probably not going to update until after Christmas sometime, so to all of my fans anywhere and everywhere, thank you for reading my fics! Happy holidays, merry Christmas, and best wishes regarding all the other winter holidays out there!


	9. The way to a vampire's heart

Some time earlier, the Einsteins did their thing at the lab (not receiving any major break-throughs, but also managing not to miss, destroy or lose anything). Yumi on the other hand never made it to the factory, deciding to turn around and head home shortly after her little chat with Odd.

Taking a little stroll on the way, Jeremie and Aelita returned to the school eventually, about half an hour after Jim had called everyone in. Their rooms, like everyone else's were really cold, the temperature outside, because they had turned off the heat and opened all the windows to air out the place in a hurry.

Before turning in for the night, Jeremie walked Aelita to her room, the pair tiptoeing down the hall until they finally reached her stop. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, turning to say her goodbyes, but it seemed Jeremie had other things to talk about, and the theme not so trivial.

"Aelita. Put a ring of garlic on the inside of your door and lock your window before you go to bed."

"What?"

He explained, still whispering. "It's a full moon tonight."

She looked at him curiously. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"It's less safe on nights like this," Jeremie avoided saying anything incriminating, glancing up and down the dark hallway to make sure they were alone.

A smile broke on her face and she placed a hand on his shoulder. "I trust you."

He took her hand an held it in both of his own. "It's not me I'm worried about, I've had plenty of these. It's Odd's first."

Aelita's expression melted into a look of, 'well...that's true...'

"And also the third," he reminded.

"Oh, right," how did she forget about that? Usually she was always considering who it could be and tossing accusations around her head, questioning some people's strange actions. Somehow, maybe because of her own strange actions today, it had slipped her mind. "Ok. Good night."

"Good night," Jeremie faintly smiled before turning around and sneaking back down stairs to his floor.

Before falling asleep, Aelita locked her door and window, and brought out the small collection of garlic she owned. One ring of garlic on the door handle, the other across her neck. Just in case.

• • •

It was nearing 12:30 and still Odd couldn't get to sleep. Maybe it was because he felt safer awake, more in control. Like Ulrich said, it was a full moon and Odd had no idea what was going to happen to him, so he refused to sleep, despite how his eyelids kept closing and he'd have to shake himself back awake.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He knew it would only be a matter of minutes before he would seriously doze off. Pushing his drowsiness aside, he pulled himself to his feet and stumbled out into the hall, barely knocking on the door before coming into Jeremie's room.

The sole occupant of the room surprisingly was nowhere near his usual position at the computer, instead he was actually in bed, actually asleep. Before waking him, Odd whispered, "Sorry Einstein." Too sleepy to feel guilt he woke Jeremie with a tap, urgent tone doing the trick. "Wake up. I need your help."

"Hmmm?" Jeremie squinted, grabbing his glasses off the skinny bedside table and slipping them on.

Now that he could actually see who was talking, Odd explained, "Jeeeeeremie, it's a full moon tonight."

"Yeah, I know," he murmured back. "Get some rest."

"What?"

"Go to bed. Full moons are the only night a month when we can actually get a full 9-hour sleep."

"But aren't bad things supposed to happen?" Odd crouched down to be at eye level with Jeremie, who had propped himself up on an elbow.

"Sure, you go a little loony at one point," he glanced around. "What time is it?"

"Half past twelve," Odd was a bit loony already and feeling apprehensively nervous.

"Go to bed soon or else you _will_ go out of control. That's what happened to me the first few times."

"Can't you chain me up or something?"

"No. I don't have any chains."

Odd pleaded, "But-"

"Besides, you won't need them. If you sleep now you should be fine."

"Should be?" This reassurance thing wasn't working very well.

"Yeah. Nothing happens to me anymore."

"But you're used to it, what about me? What am I supposed to do?"

Jeremie rolled over and put his head back on the pillow. "Go to bed."

"But, but-"

"You'll be fine," Jeremie assured with a yawn.

Reluctantly, Odd left the dark room into the dark hallway, back into his own dark room. Still a little uneasily, he lay back down and did in fact fall asleep, sincerely hoping he wouldn't regret it in the morning.

• • •

"Odd. Odd!" Ulrich chanted. "Get up!" He was yelling over their alarm's irritating siren at his limp friend, who was still snoring obnoxiously.

Ulrich knocked over the digital clock (which stopped chirping as it connected with the floor), and shook his roommate's shoulders, still with no responce. "Come on Odd. I know you love to sleep in, but you've got to get up."

Still nothing. He was starting to get a little worried, all to aware that Odd was as lifeless as a sack of potatoes, sans the snoring.

Not knowing what else to do or where else to turn, Ulrich quickly roused his next-dorm-neighbor and the two soon returned to the room, which hadn't changed at all in Ulrich's absence.

Jeremie followed him into his room, speaking skeptically, "What do you mean he won't wake up?" As he entered, he was serenaded by the snores that seemed to put an end to his disbelief.

Just like Ulrich, he called Odd's name, shook his shoulders, tapped his face a few times, and just like before, the results remained unchanged.

In his mind, Jeremie was laughing. Last night Odd was _so_ worried about the ful moon, and going out of controll and everything, and here he is perfectly fine, more than sound asleep. Much ado about nothing if you asked Jeremie.

But it wasn't a great time to chuckle about Odd when he seriously wasn't waking up. Ulrich and Jeremie were both beginning to think there was something the matter, and more than just laziness. They called Aelita.

Couple minutes later:

"Oh," Aelita was as speechless as the rest. The concerned three-some stared down at Odd with an equally unsure look on each of their faces.

"What do we need? True love's kiss or something?" Immediately after saying what he did, Jeremie wished he had kept this mouth shut. After Odd's weird, semi-relationship with Yumi, there was little doubt that Jeremie was reffering to anyone but— even though it was unintentional. The miserable sideways glance Ulrich took made Jeremie think of himself as insensitive, and guilty too. Way to screw up.

"I've got a better idea," Aelita saved Jeremie from the awkward and lingering silence. "Odd doesn't need a kiss. The way to his heart isn't through his love life."

"It's through his stomach," Ulrich finished the thought for her, knowing better than anyone else.

• • •

Five-ish minutes later, Aelita returned to their dorm with a small container of eggs and bacon, grinning deviously at her own devilish trick. Rosa, the lunch lady, never saw it coming, but at least it was for a good cause.

"Everyone cross your fingers," she stepped forward to the bed, opening the styrofoam box and holding it near Odd's nose.

The three held their breath and waited in silence to see if it would work, ignoring the minutes passing, making them closer and closer to being late for their first class.

Just as Ulrich was about to suggest they call the school nurse, the previously still boy let out a groan, and began to drag himself out of bed, as he did every morning. Rubbing his eyes he noticed Jeremie, Aelita and Ulrich standing over him and didn't understand their relieved expressions. "Wh-what? Did I miss something?" He was quick to notice the container of egg and sausage, inhale the scrumptious smell. "What's with the breakfast?"

"We'll explain later," Aelita giggled.

Ulrich glanced down at his watch. "Oh man, we've gotta go now or we'll be late for sure."

Odd yawned and got up. "Yeah, we wouldn't want to miss our block-buster math class on Thales theorem, would we?"

• • •

"You're late!" Mrs Hertz barked at the group of students sneaking in the doorway—but it wasn't Odd, Ulrich and Jeremie. It was the shifty characters Charlie, Nicholas and Herve. What a surprise, Ulrich thought to himself sarcastically.

"And where exactly were you when I was doing attendance?" Mrs Hertz asked.

In his mind, Ulrich chided along. _'Yes, where WERE you while she was doing attendance? And EVERY OTHER TIME?'_

"Umm, we were..." Nicholas, as usual, couldn't think of a good excuse.

"It's a long story Mrs Hertz," Charlie warned.

From his seat near the front of the class, Theo piped up. "It would probably take longer to explain it, and then we would all miss the lesson." He for some reason had their backs, and with a logical excuse no less.

Mrs Hertz couldn't help but agree and sent them to their desks with a stern look and a warning that if this ever happened again they'd have multiple hours of detention from the principal.

Ulrich was disappointed at the lack of answers but either way there wasn't much he could do to change mrs Hertz's mind. Instead he sat back and focused on the lesson ahead.

The rest of class continued normally, everyone sort of forgot about the mix up with the three boys being late. In no time at all it was their break inbetween classes, and Odd was a little anxious.

Pacing back and forth under the arches (just outside the dorm building) he was trying to think of how to address his issue. He had to do it now, today, because he knew that if he didn't then he would put it off and never do it. He mumbled to himself, trying out how to start the conversation. "Yumi, there's something I want to tell you. No, no, no. Yumi, there's something important you and I have to talk about. No she'll freak out if I say that. Yumi, I..." he went on and on, while pacing back and forth.

What he wasn't aware of was that Yumi was coming up behind him at that moment, and over heard a little.

"Yumi, I want to talk to you about—" He stopped in surprise, noticing her infront of him. "Oh! Yumi."

"What is it you want to talk about?" She encouraged him to go on, casually crossing her arms.

"Oh um..."

• • •

Meanwhile Theo sat a little ways away on a bench, watching the scene unfold. Although he was too far away to hear words said, the expressions on Odd and Yumi's faces told most of the story.

• • •

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I like being friends with you more than going out. Would it be ok if we went back to being friends?" Odd was a little worried about how she would respond, but when he glanced up she seemed to have a Mona-Lisa type smile.

"Yeah, ok. It was getting kind of weird anyways," she laughed a little, "I almost didn't feel like myself, a bit. If that makes any sense."

He replied, "Yeah. I get it." Maybe it was my vampi-ness, Odd wondered to himself. He would probably never know.

On the inside Odd was sighing with relief. He'd heard enough stories and had enough knowledge from experience to know that some break ups ended so badly that the kids never spoke to each other ever again. Maybe that's why he had been so apprehensive about talking to Yumi. Even though he didn't suspect it would happen, he didn't want to think that there was even a chance. "Thanks for understanding."

"No problem," Yumi waved, "I'll see you later."

"Bye," Odd watched her go with another wave of relief.

• • •

Theo watched Yumi walk off and got up, getting ready to follow her, maybe have a chat. Before he got the chance, he saw Ulrich jump out from a classroom, ditching his 'casual' incognito role with giant newspaper and dark fedora. Theo watched Ulrich come up next to her and start a conversation.

Huh, he shrugged to himself, sitting back down on the lonely bench. Guess not this time. But that was ok. He had waited so long already, what was a few more hours?

A/N:

It's come to my attention that I am not the most accurate writer there is, at least not very accurate with what country I'm supposed to be writing about. Long story short, Muffins, you were right, there is no American-style halloween in France, so my story is a little wonky.

Also, I meant to weave this into an explaination but I somehow forgot, regarding to the second Little Vampire, yes, Odd ate garlic that day, but that was _before_ he was turned into a vampire. So after he was turned, he had a bad stomach ache. Just to clear things up.


End file.
